Topic starter
14/09/2006 11:35 am
A first time attendee at the S&D meeting this weekend will be Ms. Pat Carr, who caught the "river bug" in 1958 as a Hiram College student aboard the SHOWBOAT MAJESTIC. Pat played the trumpet in the band and later went on to become a music director in public schools for 32 years. During the showboat's Marietta stop, Pat visited the River Museum, then housed in the basement of the Campus Martius Museum. She purchased several books at the gift shop, including Capt. Fred Way's "Saga of the Delta Queen". Not long afterward, Capt. Fred's little sternwheeler LADY GRACE came alongside the showboat and tied up to the towboat ATTABOY. Not only did Pat get to meet the famous Capt. Fred, but she got her picture taken on the forecastle of the LADY GRACE! Pat never lost her love for the river and has made numerous trips on the DELTA QUEEN and BELLE OF LOUISVILLE -- as well as attending gatherings of "river people" every chance she gets. I've enlisted her to do a program (she has wonderful pictures, movies and stories!) of her showboating experience on my "River Ramblings" program series at the Howard Steamboat Museum. Pat will be arriving in Louisville this evening from her home in Macon, Georgia, to drive up to Marietta tomorrow with steamboat buffettes Jo Ann Schoen and Pat Traynor. Be sure to look her up at S&D and give her a big welcome!
19/09/2006 7:28 pm
LADY GRACE & the HUCKLEBERRY
It was good to see Pat, also a veteran JIM'S DREAM cruiser, at S&D. As a devoted fan of the sternwheeler LADY GRACE, I would enjoy seeing the picture of Pat (lucky girl) aboard that sweet little paddlewheeler of Cap'n Fred's. The LG came in conversation, this past weekend, with both Bee and Woody Rutter who seemed to be in agreement that no plans were ever drawn for the paddlewheeler LADY GRACE. "She was just built," commented Woody when I asked if such plans may still exist. He said, and I seem to recall, that the 30-foot wooden hull was built by Boone Weaver, master skiff-builder, of Racine, Ohio. Woody also acknowledged that Mr. Weaver built three such hulls, but he did not their whereabouts. Back in our AVALON and early DELTA QUEEN days, a beautiful paddlewheeler built upon one of the large Weaver skiff hulls used to follow us whenever our paths crossed on the Illinois River. Might have been around Havana, Illinois, below Peoria. Is anyone familiar with this boat named the HUCKLEBERRY?
Topic starter
19/09/2006 7:37 pm
Sam: Seems to me there was a photo of the HUCKLEBERRY in a long ago issue of the S&D REFLECTOR and an accompanying letter in which mention was made of "racing" (or pacing) the Str. AVALON on the Illinois River. Indeed, Capt. Fred's little sternwheeler LADY GRACE was a gem and a virtual museum, carrying netted wire railing from the QUEEN CITY and hardware from other steamboats. I don't remember when the LG was dismantled, but her paddlewheel was in the yard at 121 River Avenue in Sewickley for some years -- and the antlers from the BETSY ANN were hanging on the garage! When Capt. Fred moved to Marietta, these artifacts went too and the paddlewheel and stacks from the LG are now on display at the Ohio River Museum.
19/09/2006 8:44 pm
Keith'd right on it as usual. Huckleberry was at Ottawa, Illinois. Built on a 30' Weaver hull. Duplicate of Lady Grace. Owned by Robert Peterson. A real nice photo is in the S & D Reflector of September, 1968 on page 30.
19/09/2006 8:55 pm
Steamboating colleagues:
Thanks to you all for mentioning Pat Carr making her appearance at S&D of Pioneer Rivermen this past weekend. I've a photo of the LADY GRACE Fred Way handed me years ago and I'll pull from my computer photo archive and forward to Franz for possible attachment to these postings.
Cheers,
R. Dale Flick
20/09/2006 5:16 pm
Here is the photo of the Lady Grace. Thanks Dale for sending this great picture.
Franz